Nerdly » ‘The Running Man (2025)’ 4K UHD Review

09th Mar2026

‘The Running Man (2025)’ 4K UHD Review

by Matthew Turner

Stars: Glen Powell, William H. Macy, Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, Jayme Lawson, Sean Hayes, Katy O’Brian | Written by Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright | Directed by Edgar Wright

he latest film from British director Edgar Wright is a remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, adapted from the 1982 novel by Stephen King (but published under the name Richard Bachman). Stepping into the Arnie role is Glen Powell, whose star is very much on the ascendant following Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man and Twisters, and The Running Man is certain to give his leading man status an extra boost of momentum.

Set in the not-too-distant future, the film centres on down-to-earth working man Ben Richards (Powell), who just wants to earn enough money to buy his young daughter the expensive flu medication she needs to survive. Fired for insubordination for the umpteenth time, and desperate for his loving wife Sheila (Jayme Lawson) not to have to do terrible things at the dodgy club she works at, Ben attends an audition at a TV studio and winds up as a contestant on The Running Man, a show where participants can win a billion dollars if they can evade a team of deadly Hunters for 30 days.

There are, inevitably, several rules, including the fact that Ben has to mail in ten minutes of self-shot camera footage every day, and that members of the public can win large sums just by reporting sightings of him. Along the way, Ben receives help from various different people, including: his old friend Molie (William H. Macy), who just happens to be an expert at making false IDs; underground, anti-establishment vlogger Bradley (Daniel Ezra); embittered zine-writer Elton (Scott Pilgrim star Michael Cera, reuniting with Wright); and innocent, privileged by-stander Amelia (Emilia Jones), who gets drawn in when Ben hijacks her car out of desperation.

Somewhat amusingly (or depressingly, depending on your point of view), King’s original novel was set in 2025, and it’s kind of extraordinary just how prescient it was, both in terms of the network TV landscape and the current political situation. To that end, the film is fully aware of the fact that what was once considered dystopia is now a full-blown reality, and that knowing topicality gives it an extra edge, whilst also maybe diluting the escapism a little bit in the process.

However, The Running Man overdoes things a little in that respect when it becomes clear that the evil network is deep-faking Ben’s self-shot camera footage to make him say whatever they want him to say. Whilst that does tap into real-life fears about faked footage, it ultimately leaves too many awkward questions, namely, if the network can fake everything that easily, why bother to actually do it for real in the first place?

Action-wise, Wright keeps things moving at a decent pace, and there are a couple of enjoyable set-pieces, most notably Ben escaping from a besieged hotel room, clad only in a towel (and then naked). That said, the structure ultimately feels a little repetitive, with Ben meeting people and then escaping from Hunters, with little difference in the ensuing action.

As for Powell, he acquits himself nicely in the lead role, delivering a likeable everyman performance – if he were less well built and had more of a smirk, he could basically be Bruce Willis. There’s also strong support from James Brolin as the smarmy, manipulative head of the network, and from Colman Domingo, clearly enjoying himself as the glamorous, wisecracking host of The Running Man.

This 4K Ultra HD release presents the movie in native 2160p resolution, encoded using the HEVC / H.265 codec, and framed in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. The higher resolution allows the film’s cinematography to shine with enhanced clarity, detail and depth, making this a strong visual presentation for home cinema setups.

Audio options are extensive, led by an English Dolby Atmos track with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core, delivering an immersive and dynamic soundscape. Additional language options include French Dolby Atmos, along with Spanish, French (Canada), and Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks, plus an audio descriptive track for accessibility. The disc also includes a wide range of subtitle options, including English, English SDH, French, Japanese, Spanish, Cantonese, Danish, Finnish, Korean, Mandarin (Traditional), Norwegian, Swedish and Thai.

The Running Man 4K also features a host of extras, including:

Special Features:

Commentary By Writer/Director Edgar Wright, Actor Glen Powell, And Writer Michael Bacall
The Hunt Begins
The Hunters And The Hunted
Welcome To The Running Man: Designing The World
Surviving The Game: Shooting The Running Man
The Running Man Commercials
The Running Man Show
The Runners — Self Tapes
Other Network Shows
The Apostle
Stunts Compilation
Hair, Make-Up And Costume Test
Deleted And Extended Scenes
Trailers & Digital Spots

In short, The Running Man is a very solid piece of Saturday night entertainment, delivering the required amount of popcorn thrills. It may lack a little of Wright’s signature touch, but it’s still a decent amount of fun. Inspired Schwarzenegger cameo too.